With the advent of steam the importance of
the River Danube as a main trade artery between Central Europe
and the East grew, however there were two major obstacles: navigation
was inherently dangerous in places and there was considerable
political obstruction. For trade to grow and navigational conditions
to improve, an international agency was required to administer
the navigation of the Danube in the interests of all countries.
This is a broad theory behind certain Commissions of the Danube.
The reality of course is far more complex and rarely were
the interests of all nations fully represented.

Summary
History of the Commissions of the River Danube 1856 - 1948

· 1856 Treaty of Paris: European
Commission of the Danube established; Russian boundary withdrawn
20 km north of the Danube

· 1857 Riparian states meet in Vienna
to regulate whole river from Ulm to Braila - largely unsuccessful
due to the dominance of Austria-Hungary

· 1870 Sulina declared a freeport
- therefore cargo could pass up the river without formality

· 1878 Treaty of Berlin: European
Commission's rights and privileges extended; lower Danube neutralised;
Romania becomes full member of the Commission following her independence;
Russia again a Danubian country after war with Turkey in 1877

· 1895-99 Blasting and canal construction
along the Iron Gates section of the river somewhat improves navigation

· 1902 Final Sulina arm cut-off completed,
thus shortening the river by 11 nautical miles

· 1919 Treaty of Versailles grants
four rivers including the Danube "international" status

· 1921 European Commission of the
Danube resumes operations; new International Commission of the
Danube set up for the "fluvial" river from Ulm to Braila

· 1939-44/5 Danube under German control

· 1948 Treaty of Belgrade: new Danube
Commission is established to regulate whole navigable river, composed
only of riparian states, except for Germany (or Austria, at first)

Historical
Research into the Commissions of the River Danube

To date, the staff of Danube Research have
carried out much work looking into the history of the Danube Commissions.
We have presented at international conferences and had papers
published on the subject, at present we are looking at the vast
archives of the European Commission of the Danube in Galati for
a major research project.